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| After Delay, Iraq Appoints Two to Posts for Security | After Delay, Iraq Appoints Two to Posts for Security |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| BAGHDAD — After weeks of negotiations, Iraq’s Parliament approved on Saturday two nominees to lead ministries responsible for the nation’s security forces, filling voids that exposed sectarian tensions in the government as the country tries to mount an effective military response to the Islamic State. | |
| Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had struggled to fill the powerful cabinet posts as he sought candidates with enough support to win approval but not so contentious as to undermine the tenuous unity government of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. | Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had struggled to fill the powerful cabinet posts as he sought candidates with enough support to win approval but not so contentious as to undermine the tenuous unity government of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. |
| The ministries — interior and defense — are particularly important because each controls an array of security forces fighting the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Many lawmakers, regardless of their misgivings about one candidate or the other, welcomed the vote as a matter of survival for the country. | |
| “We have two names for two ministries, and it’s not about their personalities,” Mithal al-Alusi, a Sunni lawmaker, said. “It’s about Iraq and about the situation we are in right now.” | |
| Mr. Abadi, a Shiite, has been under pressure to form a more representative government that can help bridge the country’s divides and win the trust of Sunnis alienated by the highly sectarian policies of his predecessor, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. The advance of ISIS was enabled in part by disenchantment among Sunnis. | |
| For interior minister, a coveted post overseeing the nation’s police forces, the lawmakers approved Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban, a member of the Badr Organization, a Shiite political group that controls a militia fighting alongside government forces against the Islamic State. | For interior minister, a coveted post overseeing the nation’s police forces, the lawmakers approved Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban, a member of the Badr Organization, a Shiite political group that controls a militia fighting alongside government forces against the Islamic State. |
| The Badr Organization had been pressing Mr. Abadi to name one of its members to reflect the party’s strong showing in the recent parliamentary elections. | The Badr Organization had been pressing Mr. Abadi to name one of its members to reflect the party’s strong showing in the recent parliamentary elections. |
| Mr. Abadi had been reluctant to pick a Badr candidate because he feared that appointing someone closely associated with a militia would jeopardize his plan for a more inclusive administration. The Badr Organization’s armed wing has been accused of torturing and killing Sunnis, especially during the sectarian violence of the mid-2000s. | Mr. Abadi had been reluctant to pick a Badr candidate because he feared that appointing someone closely associated with a militia would jeopardize his plan for a more inclusive administration. The Badr Organization’s armed wing has been accused of torturing and killing Sunnis, especially during the sectarian violence of the mid-2000s. |
| Mr. Abadi had won praise from Sunnis for resisting the candidacy of the Badr Organization’s chief, Hadi al-Ameri. Badr officials, however, reportedly threatened to withdraw from the government if one of their members was not nominated for the post. | Mr. Abadi had won praise from Sunnis for resisting the candidacy of the Badr Organization’s chief, Hadi al-Ameri. Badr officials, however, reportedly threatened to withdraw from the government if one of their members was not nominated for the post. |
| Mr. Ghabban, a longtime activist against Saddam Hussein, was detained in 1979 and later lived in exile in Iran. His candidacy was opposed by some Sunni lawmakers who said Mr. Ghabban was simply a proxy for Mr. Ameri. | Mr. Ghabban, a longtime activist against Saddam Hussein, was detained in 1979 and later lived in exile in Iran. His candidacy was opposed by some Sunni lawmakers who said Mr. Ghabban was simply a proxy for Mr. Ameri. |
| In choosing nominees for his cabinet, Mr. Abadi has been somewhat constrained by Iraq’s sectarian power-sharing arrangements, which reserve the Interior Ministry for a Shiite and the Defense Ministry for a Sunni. | In choosing nominees for his cabinet, Mr. Abadi has been somewhat constrained by Iraq’s sectarian power-sharing arrangements, which reserve the Interior Ministry for a Shiite and the Defense Ministry for a Sunni. |
| In the vote for defense minister, lawmakers approved Khalid al-Obeidi, a Sunni member of Parliament and an engineer in the Iraqi Air Force for 18 years. He represents Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which has been under the control of the Islamic State since June. | In the vote for defense minister, lawmakers approved Khalid al-Obeidi, a Sunni member of Parliament and an engineer in the Iraqi Air Force for 18 years. He represents Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which has been under the control of the Islamic State since June. |
| The voting went quickly without debate, and the candidates passed by wide margins. | The voting went quickly without debate, and the candidates passed by wide margins. |
| In addition, six other ministers — five Kurds and a Shiite — were voted into the cabinet and two ministers swapped seats — Hoshyar Zebari, who became finance minister, and Rowsch Nuri Shaways, who was named a deputy prime minister. Kurdish lawmakers had lobbied for additional cabinet posts beyond the three allocated when Mr. Abadi first named his cabinet on Sept. 8. | |
| Hamid al-Mutlak, a Sunni lawmaker from Anbar Province, said that while Mr. Ghabban was “not exactly what we want,” he voted for him all the same. “I voted yes for both of them because we are in need of these two ministers — not them specifically but in general we need ministers for these ministries,” he said. | Hamid al-Mutlak, a Sunni lawmaker from Anbar Province, said that while Mr. Ghabban was “not exactly what we want,” he voted for him all the same. “I voted yes for both of them because we are in need of these two ministers — not them specifically but in general we need ministers for these ministries,” he said. |
| It was the second attempt by Mr. Abadi to confirm nominees for the two security posts. On Sept. 16, he put forward Riyad Ghareeb, a Shiite lawmaker, as interior minister, and Jaber al-Jaberi, a Sunni, as defense minister. Both were rejected by Parliament, delivering Mr. Abadi a setback in his effort to establish himself as a strong and viable leader. | |